Helmet



"7919 I w. A. WATERS 3,391,407

HELMET Filed Aug. 15, 1966 mvsmoa. w. WATERS IYIBY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,391,407 HELMET William A. Waters, 3648 E. 49th St., Tulsa, Okla. 74135 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 566,681, July 20, 1966. This application Aug. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 572,522

3 Claims. (Cl. 2171.3)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An air-cooled helmet is described in which the circulation of cooled air by the operation of a battery operated fan mounted in the dome of the helmet which directs the flow of air over a package of coolant mounted between the fan and the head of the wearer and further directs the cooled air downwardly out of the helmet and over the head, neck and shoulders of the wearer.

This invention is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 566,681, filed July 20, 1966.

This invention has for its primary object improvements in a helmet such as a pith helmet as utilized and worn in the tropics. Specifically, this invention is directed to means in combination with a helmet for circulating air around the head of the wearer.

More particularly, this invention provides as an object a helmet of the type set forth in said prior application wherein said helmet includes means for cooling said circulating air by evaporation or removal of heat or cooling of the air.

Referring now to the illustration which preferably depicts this invention, the helmet includes a plurality of side upper and lower air openings 12 and sweat or head band portion 14 which is adapted to be positioned inwardly from the interior surface of the helmet by support brackets 16 yet are so centralized as to permit air circulation therearound. Of course, the band is adapted to be adjustable to fit the head of the wearer. The helmet is of a standard design, being lightweight, waterproof and preferably of a sun-reflective material or cover, and is divided into upper and lower portions A and 10B respectively. The two sections are joined at 11 providing means to replace the top of the helmet with a standard design when the cooling unit is not necessary or desirable. The two sections are joined by either an interlocking groove or snap arrangement or by the use of fasteners.

Positioned within the upper dome of the helmet is a battery operated motor-fan mechanism generally designated by the numeral 20 which includes a combined battery and low torque motor case 22 which is adapted to drive propellers 24. Although the battery motor case 22 as shown herein extends upwardly above the top of the helmet, it is understood that with the sub-miniature electric motors and batteries available today this will not extend substantially above the normal contour of the dome of the helmet 10 so as to be unsightly or unattractive.

Removable portion 10A includes motor-fan mechanism 20 including case 22, propellers 24, screen 28 and cooling pad 30 which is removably retained to screen 28 in any well known manner as by snaps, pressure sensitive adhesives, or Velcro-like materials. The pad 30 is preferably a sponge material saturable with water to provide evaporative-like cooling effect to the wearer. In some instances, a prefrozen gel package can be substituted or other means 3,391,407 Patented July 9, 1.968

"ice

and mechanism to provide refrigerated or heat removal type cooling.

Screen material 28 is positioned in the upper part of the helmet and just below the fan blade 24 and is conformable and adapted to protect the top of the head of the wearer from interfering with the rotation of the propeller blades 24. The blades are oriented and pitched so as to direct air circulation downwardly and around the cooling pad and head as shown. Suitable on-off switch, not shown herein, can be provided relative to the motor and battery housing 22.

The invention has been described with reference to specific and preferred embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the battery-motorfan assembly 20 can be adapted to be threaded into or otherwise attached to the helmet from the outside rather than an interior assembly as shown. Accordingly, this invention should be construed not to be limited to the embodiment herein described but should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A helmet comprising:

a head covering portion having a vertical height adapted to space the top portion thereof a substantial distance above the top of the wearers head and having an inner surface and a lower edge, support brackets secured about said inner surface near said lower edge and extending inwardly thereof, an annular narrow headband secured to said support brackets, said support brackets providing an air space between said inner surface and said annular narrow headband,

a battery operated motor and a fan attached to said motor positioned centrally within the top of said helmet, said fan having blades oriented to circulate air downwardly within the space between the top of the head of said wearer and said head covering and through the space between said inner surface and said annular narrow headband, and

air cooling means including a screen secured to said inner surface and extending horizontally below and near said blades, a cooling pad secured to said screen directly below said blades and having a periphery therearound spaced from said inner surface.

2. A helmet as described in claim 1 including means to removably attach said cooling pad to said screen.

3. A helmet as described in claim 1 wherein said cooling pad is a prefrozen gel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 290,017 12/1883 Farmer 27 594,209 11/1897 Mears 27 2,335,630 11/1943 Bachardy 27 3,070,803 1/ 1963 Shepicka 27 263,980 9/1882 Snow 27 340,793 4/ 1882 Leonard 27 432,728 7/ 1890 Eliel 2209.7 X 735,790 8/1903 Meerza 2171.3 2,769,308 11/1956 Krasno 2-171.2 3,168,748 2/1965 Limberg 2--l7l.3

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner. 

